


I Can Thrill You More Than Any Ghost

by thelilacfield



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Halloween, Haunted Houses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2019-01-21 08:35:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12453612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thelilacfield/pseuds/thelilacfield
Summary: In a haunted maze, there's danger for a terrified Wanda around every corner. But, lucky for her, she'll find someone who can give her a thrill so much better than a jump scare.





	I Can Thrill You More Than Any Ghost

**A/N:** Happy Halloween readers! Hope you enjoy this ridiculously self-indulgent fluff!

* * *

Violently swung yet again against the side of the van, Wanda rolls her eyes when the same familiar jangling of chains and creak of wood rings through the speakers, and Darcy lets out a lengthy groan. "Are you kidding me, Pietro?" comes Elektra's voice from the back seat.

"Hey, if it gets you to stop sucking face with Matt back there I'll sit through  _Monster Mash_  again," Foggy quips from his ill-gotten passenger seat, and Wanda catches a flash of Pietro's smug grin in the rearview mirror before he swings the van around another corner, crushing her into Jane's side.

"Your driving is scarier than anything we're going to experience tonight," Matt says dryly, as Pietro slams the brakes on so dramatically there's a small metallic squeal before they jerk to a halt, Darcy jerking the door open and jumping out into the cold evening air with an exaggerated sigh of relief.

"I wouldn't be so sure, Murdock," Pietro retorts, throwing Wanda her scarf from his glove compartment and zipping his up to his chin. "This place is supposed to terrify you. Any group bigger than four and they split you up."

"It's a horror maze, we're all gonna end up lost by ourselves anyway," Elektra says, and Wanda can't suppress a slight shiver.

Jane notices first, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You're still sure about coming in?" she asks softly. "You can just stay in here with the heating running and music that isn't Pietro's terrible Halloween playlist."

"That's a fantastic Halloween playlist!" Pietro snaps, apparently hearing despite having already gotten out of the car, bouncing around in a mixture of excitement and an attempt to stay warm.

Briefly clasping Jane's hand, Wanda nods and says, "I'll be fine. I read their policy on customer safety five times, if I freak out they'll escort me straight out through the employee-only corridors."

"We'll try to stick by you!" Darcy says cheerfully, jacket unzipped despite the chill. "P, this was your idea, do you know if it's gonna be cold in there? Or should we leave our layers in the car?"

"The website said they turn the temperature up and down to keep everything uncertain, and the fake fog won't help, I'd keep the layers on," Jane says in her usual slightly stern tone.

"Hey guys!" comes Daisy's voice over Elektra slamming the van door shut, and Wanda darts over to the rest of their group, Trip's arm sliding around her and his grin familiar, easing some of the nervousness rising in her gut.

"Okay, I think we should get into pairs and try to keep track of each other," Jemma says, ever methodical. "Fitz and I will go together. I assume Matt and Elektra also will."

"No making out in the dark corners!" Trip teases.

"We make no promises," Elektra says with a smirk curling her crimson-painted lips, very obviously sliding her hand into Matt's back pocket, and everyone in their group rolls their eyes.

"Is Ward coming, Dais?" Darcy asks.

"That asshole?" Daisy asks, rolling her heavily-outlined eyes. "Not a chance. You can all officially say what you really think of him."

"Oh good, the douchebag is out and we can be partners!" Darcy says, bouncing over to her and linking their arms together.

"I want Trip," Foggy says immediately, sidling across their circle to his side, and Wanda grabs for the hand Jane offers, pressing into her side.

"Abandoned by my own sister," Pietro says mournfully, throwing the end of his scarf over his shoulder with a dramatic gesture. "That's fine. I'll go round this alone  _and_  I'll finish faster than all of you."

"Well that's nothing to boast about," Foggy says with a grin a mile-wide, and Pietro glares at him before turning on his heel to walk up to the entrance desk - no doubt more out of desire to speak with the very pretty red-head standing there, made-up as a ghostly bride, hair fiery red beneath her torn veil, than any real anger with them.

Letting the rest of the group and a rowdy bunch of strangers go in ahead of her, trying to steady her breathing, Wanda is at least a little comforted by the soft smile on the redhead's face. "Hey guys, you ready for the session?" she asks, and Jane nods, taking Wanda's hand in hers. "Now, the actors are allowed to try and separate groups to scare you individually, but if you want them to stop all you have to do is say so and they will. If you or a friend get panicky, stay where you are and shout 'staff' and someone will come to find you and either calm you down until you feel ready to keep going or escort you out of the maze."

"How often do you have customers ask to leave?" Wanda asks, clenching her hand into a fist to hide that her fingers are trembling violently.

"Happens all the time, even with the people who stand in front of me boasting that they'll be able to handle it," she says, giving Wanda a wicked grin. "Our actors are very talented scarers, but they know their boundaries very well."

"Don't worry, I'll stay right next to you the whole time," Jane promises, and Wanda clings to her a little tighter as she hands their tickets over and pulls her through the entrance, enveloping them in darkness and music that sets her teeth on edge. Squeezing her hand, Jane softly says, "Don't think about it too much. Don't get in your own head. Think about cute library guy!"

"I should never have told any of you about him," Wanda says, but her heartbeat does slow a little, allowing adrenaline instead of fear to become what's driving her. "I saw him the other night reading in the fourth floor corner. Wearing one of those ridiculous grandpa jumpers and somehow looking good in it. He gets this little frown on his face when he's concentrating on a book. I wound up taking an hour to write fifty words because he was hot and distracting."

"Someone's seriously smitten," Jane observes as she pulls Wanda down the less dark corridor, the hissing of the fog machine echoing over the scratching of violin strings. "You started college a month ago and you're already head over heels for a stranger!"

"I am  _not_  head over heels!" Wanda snaps. "I just think he's cute. And he helped this girl with a technical issue on her laptop, and he's all tall and blue-eyed and shy, and orders black coffee from the counter but makes ridiculous faces when he tries to drink it and dumps a ridiculous amount of sugar in when he thinks no one's looking, and he must like jazz because one time he accidentally took his headphones out before turning his music off and he blushed so red, it was  _so cute_ \- I know you're laughing, Jane!"

"Sure sounds like you're head over heels to me," she says, and Wanda smacks at her shoulder seconds before a scream echoes around the maze and she lets out a squeal of her own, stumbling over herself and into Jane's back. "I bet that was your brother," Jane observes softly, letting Wanda giggle instead of get herself into a panicky state.

"He's exactly the type to pretend he's not scared but be the first to scream," she whispers. "I just hope he doesn't land us in a lawsuit by punching an actor." Despite her joking tone, she still shuffles closer to Jane as the other girl feels her way around a corner, the darkness immediately increasing, pressing in around them like a veil. "Promise not to leave me?"

"I swear," she says, and Wanda presses herself so close she's practically draped across Jane's back, desperately trying not to think of what might be lurking in the darkness.

Even closeness doesn't stop her from screeching when a fake cobweb catches her in the face, batting wildly at the air in front of her, Jane having to take her hands and hold her still as she picks the cotton wool away from her face. A change in the music also makes her jump, imagining the sound of footsteps on every side, expecting a face to loom out of the darkness or a hand to brush against her side.

The twists and turns of the maze soon have both of them disorientated, stumbling around in darkness so deep she can barely make out Jane walking a foot in front of her, seeing a few silhouettes Wanda convinces herself are other customers moving around, hearing the screams and shouts of other people getting scared by the actors. Scuttling sounds of insects on the ground and the eerie call of a faraway owl set Wanda's teeth on edge, and Jane has tensed up too in fear, gripping Wanda's hand tight enough to hurt a little, digging her nails into Wanda's palm every time Wanda lets out a small squeak of fear.

A low laugh cutting through the music makes both of them jump violently, Jane jumping back with a frantic repetitive murmur of, "Back to the wall, back to the wall," and Wanda clinging to her hand, twisting a tassel on her scarf so hard it breaks off. She sees the figure emerging at the end of the corridor first, a tall, broad silhouette with a white mask shining eerily through the gloom, and starts to whimper involuntarily, clutching frantically at Jane's sleeve.

A rumble, and the motor of a chainsaw comes to life, the metal gleaming the the eerie red lights that spring to life overhead, and Wanda screams so loudly she goes momentarily light-headed, ignoring every rule against running to sprint away from the horror, Jane's breaths behind her and her pounding feet loud over the music. Another figure leaps out at them from the shadows, and she catches only a glimpse of a grey face and a mouth dripping blood as she screams again and crashes hard into a corner, catching her shin on a sharp edge and tearing her tights, limping into fog so thick she can't see her hand in front of her face, no matter how hard she waves.

Shivering frantically, she pulls her cardigan closer around her and turns, expecting to find Jane behind her. No one is there, even when she waves her hand around into the gloom looking for someone, retraces a few steps, tries hissing, "Jane?" too afraid to raise her voice any higher. But no one answers, and a door slams somewhere close behind her, making her shriek and leap forward further into the darkness.

Trembling violently, clutching at her cardigan sleeves, she loses all control of her breathing when lights begin to flicker in the darkness, momentarily gleaming against a face patterned in metal, and the rattle of chains fills the air, slow footsteps shuffling towards her. Sheer terror brings tears springing to her eyes, her vision blurring and wavering black at the edges, and she tries to back away from the sound, but finds that she hits a wall almost immediately.

Fumbling against the cold wood, she find a handle and jerks at it, but the metal comes away in her hand. She finds herself crying in earnest, breathing shallow and broken, and as the figure emerges from the mist and reveals a crimson face patterned with metal and grotesque scar tissue she sobs out, "Please don't, please don't hurt me, please please please, why are you doing this, just  _stop_ -"

Her breathing rasps in her throat, her vision entirely blurred by tears and panic clawing coldly at her chest, stopping up her lungs, and a voice saying, "Sir, please turn off the music and bring up the lights in corridor 384," sounds far-away, as if she's hearing the words from underwater. The music shuts off immediately, the only sound on the air the hum of the bright electric lights that flicker to life, but Wanda can't calm herself down, drawing her knees up to her chest and continuing to sob breathlessly.

"You're hurt," comes the voice once again, closer to her now. "Ma'am, I'm Vision. Can you tell me your name?"

"Wanda," she breathes in between tears, and feels a piece of material pressed into her hand, lifts her head to scrub at her tear-streaked face, taking off most of her make-up. Blinking against the sudden bright light, she sees the grotesque face peeled off in the mask, tossed aside, and the man kneeling in front of her with concern in his familiar blue eyes.

"Oh, you're the girl I always see in the library!" he says, mouth curving into a smile that lights up his eyes, and her heart picks up speed again for a reason other than abject terror. "I'm so, so sorry, I truly am. Did you hurt yourself when you fell?"

"I don't think so," she says, stretching her arms out to check for any aches. "I knocked into a wall when someone jumped out at me and my friend."

"That will have been Jessica, she's a big fan of the jump scare," he says, and gives her a smile of such concern that it takes her breath away. "Come on, let me take you into the back. You should have someone look at that cut."

"No, I'm fine," she insists, but when she tries to stand she finds that her legs go out from under her, sending her stumbling forward into Vision, light-headed.

"You're shaking," he says softly, looking down into her eyes, and she barely resists the urge to lick her lips in a signal for him to kiss her. "Please, I feel so awful, I am so sorry that you were so scared. Come into the staffroom, we have tea and coffee and biscuits, and we can track your group down on the cameras and reunite you with them outside. I am so sorry."

"Stop apologising," she says, straightening her cardigan and hoping her make-up isn't too smudged despite seeing black smeared all over her tissue. "A cup of tea sounds like what I need."

Vision smiles, eyes shining so blue she can feel herself falling, and presses a finger to the earpiece she can now see the gleam of to say, "Sir, I'm bringing a customer into the back, she's hurt. Could you make my coffee and a cup of tea?"

"Why do you drink black coffee?" Wanda asks, and immediately wishes she hadn't said it. But she's dug her grave, and proceeds to lie in it by adding, "I see you doing it in the library, but you always add a ridiculous amount of sugar before you can drink it."

"People tend to take someone of my age and build who refuses to drink anything other than hot chocolate less seriously," he says, and she giggles in the most ridiculous way, immediately kicking herself for sounding like some idiot teenager in the throes of first love. "My ex got me into the habit of black coffee, and the caffeine content does help me through all those late library nights."

Perking up at the mention of an ex, she follows him through a door marked  _STAFF ONLY_  into brightly lit corridors, becoming slowly aware that the leg she banged against the wall really is aching, and that her limping is obvious enough that Vision has slowed down to stand by her side, and when she stumbles his arm wraps around her, steadying her. Their gazes meet for a moment, and she hopes she's not the only one who feels the jolt of electricity rush through her when they look into each other's eyes.

He pushes another door open, and she looks around in wonder at what must be the centre of the building, actors out of costume and drinking water and energy drinks. As Vision closes the door behind them, another man emerges from a different door, made up like a zombie, and shakes off a fake severed hand to get himself a Red Bull and collapse onto the couch. "I haven't gotten one person down my section tonight," he whines.

"Well, Tony, that would be because you work in the opposite direction to the exit," says the redhead who was working at the front desk, feet kicked up on the coffee table. "Remember? You drew the short straw."

"Bite me, Romanoff," Tony says, and she smirks at him across the room.

"This is Wanda, everyone," Vision says, and Wanda gives a slight nervous smile as gazes turn to her, and the man who first scared her and Jane in a mask waves at her with a grin, now sitting eating Oreos and playing with his phone. "Where's the first aid kit?"

"I got it!" comes a call from the back, and the man who walks into the room with a mug in each hand has such a kind face that Wanda can't believe he would work in a horror maze. "Sorry my cast members scared you so badly, Wanda. Perhaps we'll have to tone down the make-up next year."

"I'd love to not wear so many prosthetics, Phil," Tony says, and the man who must be their boss rolls his eyes, handing Wanda her tea and eyeing her injured leg.

"Come sit down," Vision urges her, and helps her across to an unoccupied couch, well-loved and comfortable. "I really am sorry, Wanda. I should've stopped and let you go by when I realised you were afraid."

"It's not your fault," she says, taking the antiseptic wipe Phil hands to her and dabbing at the graze on her leg. "You're paid to scare people. And you're pretty good at it."

He blushes, just as deeply red as she remembers from watching him in the library, and she bites her lip to fight back a delighted smile. "Half of the scare is atmosphere, that's all Mr. Coulson's call," he says, gesturing to a genially smiling Phil. "And Natasha does all the make-up, that also helps. All we do is walk towards people."

"False!" Tony shouts. "There is also making noises. I've been banging around my section groaning to nobody for the past forty minutes."

"Sounds like your regular Saturday night, Stark," Natasha says, and Wanda finally laughs, the atmosphere reminding her of her own friends.

"So what made you start working at a horror maze?" she asks Vision, as the other occupants of the room turn to bickering, eager to know more about him now some of the fear and adrenaline has left her body, and the warmth of the mug in her hands is helping to ground her.

"They were advertising for more workers for Halloween season, Tony worked the seasonal rush last year and as we share a class he asked around for anyone interested," he answers, shaking sugar into his coffee and blushing again when he notices her staring and smiling. "He thought it would be a good idea. Apparently I'm too much of an introvert and shouldn't be spending every night in the library."

"I'll miss seeing you there while you're working," she says softly, and he returns her shy smile, making her heart skip a beat at how breathtakingly handsome he is when he smiles. "Maybe I should try this next year. I might get desensitised to all of this if I'm on the other side of it."

"I didn't mean to scare you as badly as I did," he says softly, shuffling closer to her on the couch, and she hopes he doesn't hear the hitch in her breath. "It's my first year, people say knowing when to stop is instinctive. I obviously haven't learned it yet. I truly am very sorry, from the bottom of my heart."

"I reacted badly," she says with a slight shrug. "I've been on edge since my brother suggested coming in a group, never was good with this sort of thing. Everything combined was too much." Realisation hits her suddenly, and she spits out, " _Shit_ , my friends. They won't have any idea where I am. Will they even be out of the maze yet?"

Almost precisely as she finishes speaking, the pale-faced ghoul that sent her and Jane separating in terror walks through the door, wiping fake blood from her chin and neck and grinning. "That's the last of that session officially chased out of the exit, time for a break," she says in a perfectly ordinary voice that makes Wanda feel foolish for being so frightened.

"Are you okay to leave?" Vision asks Wanda softly, and his hands rise protectively as she stands, testing her weight out on her legs and finding that she's no longer shaking, calmed by tea and talk and seeing the ordinary people behind the costumes. "Let me walk you out."

All the lights in the maze have blazed into life, the atmospheric music cut off and the fog clearing, other staff members resetting props and looking for any belongings dropped in someone's haste to run. Wanda's pulse seems to be pounding in her ears as she walks along beside Vision, hyper-aware of his every movement, thinking about how their height difference means she would have to be on her tiptoes to pull him down into a kiss, how his hands would feel in her hair, on her waist, a flush creeping up her neck at the thought of his hands anywhere else, or his lips on hers, or his mouth on her skin.

"I go to the library most nights in the hope you'll be there." The words trip from her tongue unexpectedly, and she blushes almost immediately, wishing she could curl up in a corner and simply melt away to avoid the fallout of saying her innermost thoughts. But apparently some part of her mind doesn't understand that, because she keeps talking. "It takes me twice as long as it should to get work done because I get distracted looking at you. I know you read anything and everything in that tiny quiet corner on the fourth floor. I know you wait until you think no one's looking to pour sugar into your coffee. I know you listen to jazz music and have a collection of those grandpa-chic sweaters and you're kind to people. And I'd really like to get to know you better."

His hand is on the exit door, but he's gazing down at her with something unreadable even to her uncanny skills at understanding emotions in his eyes, and she watches the motion of his throat as he swallows thickly. "I've been nursing a crush on you since I saw you in the library on the tenth day of the semester," he says softly, and her heart is in her mouth. "You were wearing a hoodie that was too long for you over leggings, and you looked so stunning working alone in the corner that I kept going back hoping to see you. I thought I didn't have a chance because I'd see you there with one particular man, a blonde law student, and you'd be talking and laughing."

"No, no, he's my friend," she says hastily, and watches the smile that pulls at the corners of Vision's mouth. "Definitely not my boyfriend. I am one hundred and ten percent single." Reaching for his hand, thrilling when his fingers slide between hers and he squeezes, she looks up into his eyes and softly asks, "Can I have your number?"

"My phone is back in the staffroom," he says mournfully, just as she remembers that hers is in Darcy's backpack in the trunk of the van, along with everyone else's.

"Then how about meeting me on the fourth floor of the library tomorrow morning?" she asks, deciding to be bold, not to let this connection slip away. "Eight o'clock? We can go for breakfast at this place I know, just around the corner from the library. I won't judge if you want to get hot chocolate instead of black coffee."

"That sounds wonderful," he says sweetly, and she can't help the overexcited squeal that escapes her, bouncing on the balls of her feet in delight. His gaze drops momentarily to her lips, lingering just long enough for her to notice, before he flushes and looks away from her. Cupping a hand to his cheek, heart pounding, she leans up onto her tiptoes to guide him down into a kiss, his arms hesitating before winding around her, and she feels a groan vibrate in his chest when she curls her fingers into the hair at the back of his head to pull him closer.

"Wow," she breathes against his lips, and presses one last soft kiss to his mouth before she drops back onto her feet, seeing the blush rising up his neck. "That was completely worth the price of admission."

"We better find your friends," he says, voice a little hoarse around the edges, and she giggles up at him, light-headed with giddiness rather than fear. "Eight o'clock tomorrow morning? You'll be there?"

"After a kiss like that, how could I refuse?" she teases, and he blushes brightly, opening the door to a wash of cool night air, and she sees Darcy almost immediately in her electric blue coat. "Thank you for looking after me tonight."

"Once again, Wanda, I am genuinely sorry for scaring you," he says, and she shakes her head and bites her lip as she looks up at him. "I hope that nothing I did will give you nightmares or anything awful like that."

"Oh, you'll be in my dreams," she says, arching a flirtatious eyebrow and smirking up at him. "But they definitely won't be nightmares."

Leaving him blushing furiously, she darts through the disorientated crowds to her group of friends, who call fall on her in relief that she's alright, Jane apologising frantically for losing her, explaining that she rounded a corner and bumped into Pietro, and they later found Foggy and Trip and the four of them managed to hunt down the exit between attacks from the actors. Pietro proudly recounts the story of how he turned an actor away from him in a dark corridor by yelling, "Not this way, asshole!" and Jemma has them all in stitches recounting how Leo accidentally hit a cast member in the shoulder from instinctively lashing out when surprised.

Even in the car on the way home, trapped between listening to Matt and Elektra swapping sweet nothings and kissing in the back and Pietro and Foggy bellowing every word to  _Ghostbusters_  for most of the ride home, Wanda gazes out into the crisp, clear night and thinks about Vision. Plans what she'll wear in the morning for their first date. Thinks about kissing him again. And again. And again after that. And as many times as she can.

Less than twelve hours later, she finds herself frantically texting Darcy to beg to borrow her Philosophy notes later, then silencing her phone and tossing it onto Vision's nightstand without looking, tipping her head back into his pillows and moaning as he kisses down her neck and nips at her shoulder, trailing kisses down her stomach as he slides down the bed and proceeds to make her forget everything but his name.

* * *

"Guess this place has gotten better known since last year," Daisy says as she finally swings her car into an empty parking space, looking over at the entrance marked by all its warning signs and an eerily flickering light.

"You been telling people you met your boyfriend here, Wanda?" Trip teases with a grin, and Wanda smacks out at him before she slides out of the car, straightening her skirt and checking none of her friends are looking before undoing another button on her shirt.

"It's busy because we've come out on Halloween itself," she points out, waving at Jemma already waiting by the entrance. "Wish Matt and Elektra had come instead of setting up for their party."

"We can't force the actors to deal with them making out in the dark corners two years in a row," Daisy says, grabbing Lincoln's hand and pulling him with her across the parking lot.

Natasha is waiting at the desk, this year dressed as a vampire, her neck covered in crimson puncture marks and her outfit all black lace and leather, and when she smiles at Wanda the flickering lamp over the door illuminates the fake fangs glued into her mouth. "Brave of you all to come out on Halloween," she teases. "Phil always turns up the atmosphere on the last night."

"Where's Vizh working?" Wanda asks as the rest of her friends slip past her and into the darkness, Pietro and Foggy bickering as they try to choose different directions to walk.

"Corridor 146," Natasha hisses, and presses a small flashlight into Wanda's hand, eyes glinting mischievously. "Numbers are hidden in the bottom corners. But don't let Phil know I told you. We're not supposed to help customers find their way through the maze."

"I don't care about getting out," Wanda says, eyeing her reflection in the cracked mirror hanging on the wall behind the desk. "I just want to go find my boyfriend."

"Have fun," Natasha says, voice laced heavily with innuendo. "See you at Elektra's Halloween party."

Waving cheerfully to her, smirking at the confused looks from the group of obviously terrified people behind her, Wanda ducks into the maze, following the twists of the walls, the thought of finding Vision somewhere in the darkness keeping her from being scared. Rounding a corner, she walks directly past Tony lurking in the shadows, and giggles when he breaks out of his zombie groaning to wink at her and toss her a condom from somewhere in the depths of his costume. "Take a right, then a left, then the archway halfway down the left wall," he hisses, and she salutes to him, following his directions exactly and avoiding seeing anyone else.

Switching on her tiny flashlight, she finds Vision almost immediately, smiles up at her boyfriend of a little over a year and peels his mask away to lean up and kiss him. He leans into the kiss, so familiar, arm wrapping around her and pulling her against him. Backing him up against the wall, she reaches behind him to find the tiny handle to swing the door that blends seamlessly into the wall open and steer them back into his hiding place. "I think," Vision says softly in between kisses, breath hitching as her fingertips trace the rips in his costume, "we've made out in here too many times. We can't keep not getting caught."

"Do you want me to leave?" she asks softly, and his answer is pulling her into another kiss, and she grins against his mouth, dropping her coat and cardigan to the ground and winding her arms around his neck.

He groans softly when she tugs at his hair, breathing going shallow as she kisses at his neck, the same spot she usually leaves hickies that get him teased by his friends. "We should stop," he whispers, but makes no attempt to move her away. " _Wanda_. We can't...we shouldn't have sex in here."

"Yes we should," she whispers, tracing her hand down his chest, opening buttons as she goes, pressing against him.

"But everyone will  _know_ ," he hisses, clutching at her as she grinds against him, smirking to herself in the darkness.

"We're hardly blushing virgins, Vizh," she says. "And our friends know it. Do you really want me to stop?" Kissing a trail down his chest, she sinks slowly to her knees on the bundle of her coat and cardigan, and despite the gloom she still finds his gaze easily, giving him the most angelic smile she can. "If you want me to stop, just say so."

"Don't stop," he says almost immediately, and she giggles and presses a lingering kiss to his hip, waiting for him to grit out her name and listening to his nails scratching against the wall holding him up as she gets to work.

The hour-long session passes faster than she realises, lost in Vision, and she starts out of a kiss when the lights blaze to life above them, blinking in a daze against the brightness. "Oops," Vision breathes, sounding so adorable that she giggles and kisses him, pulling him closer by the open halves of his shirt. "I'll get written up for not scaring anybody for an entire session."

"Well you definitely gave me a  _thrill_ ," she whispers, and he blushes and ducks his head bashfully. "Can I get an escort out, babe? You've made me so weak in the knees, I'm not sure I can walk without help."

He smiles down at her, gives her a gentle kiss and helps her back into her coat, taking her hand to lead her though the staff corridors and out into the night, leaning against the doorframe and giving her that same look that makes her fall a little more in love every day. "We've got one more session to do, then I'm yours for the evening," he says softly, and she beams up at him. "Do you still want me to come by yours before we go to Elektra's? I can meet you there if you want to go start having fun with your friends."

"No, definitely come by mine, I need an hour or so to fix up my costume anyway," she says, and returns the pointed wave Pietro is giving her. "I better go."

"I love you," Vision says softly, and she rises onto her tiptoes to kiss him.

"I love you too," she replies, a routine that feels so right even though they only started saying it a month ago, and his smile lingers in her mind as she darts across the parking lot to her friends.

"You know, it would be great if my sister could try to make it less obvious that she spent that entire horror maze session kissing her boyfriend in a corner," Pietro remarks sourly as she catches up to them, giving her scarf a tug to make sure the new hickies rising dark on her neck are hidden.

"It was a cupboard," she corrects him, to a bark of laughter from Trip. "And we weren't just kissing."

"Told you they were a pair of horndogs," Darcy remarks smugly to Pietro's look of disgust. "You're just jealous that Natasha isn't single."

"Don't worry, P, it's Halloween," Wanda says with false sympathy laced through her voice. "Plenty of people at that party for you to strike out with."

"I hate you all," Pietro snaps, and climbs into Jemma's car to sulk in the backseat as they drive away.

Back in the apartment, Pietro and Foggy having gone straight to Elektra's family's manor to start drinking while putting their ridiculous costumes on, Wanda spends the time waiting for Vision to arrive arranging their costumes on the bed, smiling softly to herself. Instead of spending Halloween drunkenly critiquing the  _Scream_  movies over Chinese take-away with Daisy, she gets to spend it at a costume party with a man she's ridiculously in love with, in the first couples costume she's ever gotten to wear in her life.

When Vision arrives, now wearing the sweater she got him for his birthday to replace the three or four she'd borrowed and never given back, she pulls him into her room with a lingering kiss. "Elektra messaged to say they were behind setting up," she says between kisses.

"Then I'll need to shower," he says. "Get that awful fog machine smell off me."

"Mind if I join you?" she asks, arching an eyebrow at him, and watches his pupils dilate with desire.

"Sounds delightful," he whispers, and she smirks. "But we can't be too late for this party. It's already half past nine."

"I can be quick," she says, and drags him into the bathroom with her as a flush creeps up his neck.

They wind up not arriving to the party until gone eleven, finding most guests already very drunk and most cast members from the horror maze playing beer pong with champagne in the front room, greeting them with a raucous cry of, "Hello horndogs!" - save for Thor, who Wanda later finds listening to Jane talk about deep space in the garden with a look of utter wonder on his face.

But in her defense, everyone who sees Vision in his Clark Kent costume will perfectly understand their lateness.


End file.
